Skinheads Attack Israeli Soccer Team in Poland

Two days after the Maccabi Haifa soccer team was attacked in Austria, another Israeli soccer team is attacked.

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Sarah Leah Lawent, 26/07/14 23:06

Soccer (illustrative)

Reuters

Two days following an attack on Macabbi Haifa soccer players by pro-Palestinian rioters during a friendly match in Lille, France, a second anti-Semitic has taken place in Poland. On Friday, the F.C. Ashdod soccer team, which has been training in a town near Warsaw, Poland, was attacked by at least 30 skinheads during a local practice game.

According to reports, the skinheads sat in the stands and started chanting anti-Semitic epithets at the Israeli players. They tried to rush the field, but were stopped by security. The skinheads then returned with reinforcements, and succeeded in bursting onto the playing field, pepper-spraying team owner Jacky Ben-Zaken, coach Nir Klinger, and several other staff members.

Assistant Coach Shmuel Buchris attempted to resist the attackers, but following a blow to the head, lost consciousness for a few minutes, for which he received medical attention.

Team management said that some of the attackers had been armed with knives, and that it was quite fortuitous that the situation did not have graver results.

Management decided to return to Israel ahead of schedule. The team will be flying in on Sunday.